The Cost of the Silver Line Phase III Rises Again

By Kate Klinck

He won’t be a passenger on a bus that will travel through the new tunnel, but he will still have to pay for the $1 billion project.

John Cater, a member of the T Riders Union based in Roxbury, said the union is opposed to the Silver Line Phase III project because they will have to pay for the project in raised fares, but they will not benefit from the new additions.

Originally proposed as a $756 million project in 2003, the cost of the Silver Line Phase III rose again this year to over $1 billion.

The Phase III project is a mile long tunnel connecting Phase I, the existing Silver Line/Washington Street Service, with Phase II, the Silver Line/Waterfront Service. The tunnel will be used by the Bus Rapid Transit, and will help provide service from Dudley Square and lower Roxbury through the South End, Chinatown and downtown, to the South Boston Waterfront and Logan International Airport, according to the MBTA website.

“We will be targeted because it’s lower income people and people of color who rely on the T,” Cater said. “But we wouldn’t be going where they extended the T.”

The rising costs of the project, the MBTA’s $8.1 billion dollar debt, and construction plans that will re-route traffic and create an eye-sore have caused residents to become concerned.

Chris Betke, the chairman of the Leather District Neighborhood Association said the district did not approve the construction that will take place in Gateway Park.

“A lot of us just don’t see the public benefit. It’s too expensive, with minimal benefit,” he said. “Only recently was the Big Dig finished. Now along comes the Silver Line and wants to use Gateway Park as a stage for the construction for this project. Not in our backyard again.”

Richard H. Doyle, the regional manager for the Federal Transit Administration, said phase III is needed because it is the “missing link between the projects.”

“It will provide better connections for people who want to transfer from the Green Line to the Orange and Red line,” Doyle said.

The MBTA submitted a proposal to the Federal Transit Administration asking for federal funding of 60 percent of the project. Doyle said the administration is in the preliminary stages of considering the project.

The Silver Line Communications and Community Development Office did not return calls regarding the funding of the project.

The project must also be approved by the community. Linda Royer, the executive director of Washington Gateway Main Street, said the organization must write a letter of reference for the MBTA to proceed.

The members of Washington Gateway Main Street are mostly in favor of the project, but Royer said different people want different things.

“Detail is the devil,” Royer said.

Right now there are two methods being considered for the construction. One option is “cut and cover,” which would involve excavating from the surface down almost 120 feet, starting on a section of the tunnel at Charles St. South. The other method is “mine tunneling,” which would be below ground with access shafts at the surface to remove dirt. Both methods of construction would cause traffic to be re-routed.

Construction of Phase III is scheduled to start in early 2011, and be open to passengers in 2016.

According to the MBTA’s 2006 proposal to the Federal Transit Administration, by 2030, the silver line is expected to have 15,100 new passengers as a result of the project. In 2007, 14,000 passengers rode the Silver Line Washington Street, and 15,000 ride the silver line Waterfront.

The increase in buses and passengers would increase the number of bus drivers needed as well. If there is a shortage of drivers, the new buses may not arrive as frequently as scheduled, or routes may have to be changed. The Boston Carmen’s Union did not return calls.